There are only a handful of orders outstanding on the campaign. Most of these are from backers who haven't confirmed their shipping info on the surveys (or were late doing so).
Never fear! I'm keeping track of it all and I have NOT forgotten about you.
I'm waiting on my next shipment of books and then I will send out another wave of orders. That shipment should arrive mid-January. As soon as I get the books, I'll sign them and send them your way.
In the meantime, please log in to Backerkit and be sure you have confirmed your shipping address and information. I want to send you your book!
Eighty percent of the Adventure Cat books have been shipped. If you ordered a regular paperback or hardback (and filled out your survey), your book should be in your hands very soon!
If you ordered the handcrafted special editions...here's a sneak peak at what I've been working on. Yes, that's hand painted edges, y'all. I won't tell you how many swear words were uttered in frustration BEFORE this pic, but I will tell you the result is WELL worth all of the work. They're adorable!
I should have all the final touches completed in the next two weeks and we're on track to ship them January 1 (if not sooner).
I'll be at a convention this weekend and away from my computer. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me and I'll answer you as soon as possible early next week.
All of the books have arrived! I'm waiting on the metal bookmarks, art prints, and boxes and then we'll begin packing these babies up and sending them out to you.
If you haven't filled out the survey, please do so. I can't send you a book without confirming your address.
I'm working on getting the paperback and hardback books ordered and on their way. In the meantime, you should have received a survey email from Backerkit. This survey will lock in your shipping address and give you a chance to add-on more books to your order. Please fill out your survey as soon as possible, so that I can get a final count on books and get these awesome stories into your hands!
On that note, I also have a pre-order store open for the next 8 days. That means that anyone who DIDN'T get a chance to back the campaign can pre-order a book for a limited time. So, if you know of anyone who missed their chance at this campaign, feel free to share this link with them: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/becca-lee-gardner/adventure-cats-a-choose-your-cat-adventure.
If we get another $500 worth of pre-orders on the campaign, I'll add free digital coloring pages to every order. That way the kiddos and cat lovers in your lives can download, print, and color their own cat adventurers!
Thank you again for all of your support and encouragement! I'm so, so excited to get this book into your hands.
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor with my laptop. My dog is lounged on the couch. I could move her, but she's made a nest of blankets and she's snoring. She's too cute to disturb.
I've been staring at this blank email wondering what words I could write here that could possibly capture all of the feelings I have right now.
There is so much hope tied up in creating books. I hope that I can tell the story that is in my soul. I hope that the story will weather the storms of publication and marketing and get scooped up by those who need it. I hope that the story will be a light for others for years and years.
But hope is a heavy thing. Every time I sit down to write, I carry it on my shoulders. Every time I hand someone my book, it weighs down my arms. It takes effort to keep hoping. To keep believing. Every day I see another creative cut down. Another story criticized. Another dreamer open their eyes and shamble off into the gray.
It's easier to move with the crowd than to make something new.
I had hopes for Adventure Cats. I had hopes for this campaign. And they felt heavier than ever before. I was trying a new type of story. I was trying a new way of launching a book. I was hoping so damn hard and it felt heavier than ever.
And you believed in this book. In me.
I don't know how to tell you how much that means to me. How your pledges made this book possible, but how they also lightened this burden. How you made creating in this world feel lighter and more possible than ever before.
Thank you.
I am honored by your trust. I am encouraged by your belief. And I do not take either lightly. In the coming days, I'll be finalizing the proof of Adventure Cats and sending it off to printers. I hope to be sending out books by mid-November (paperback and regular hardback). Ebooks should be delivered in the next 2 weeks.
Thank you for joining me on this adventure. May we share many, many more together.
